The Downward Spiral
by Macalaure
Summary: After Artemis' soul is returned to a new body, Holly and Artemis must overcome one final obstacle. Spoilers for any fools who haven't read The Last Guardian yet. Complete!
1. Descension

Chapter One - Descension  
_Hope dies last_

* * *

Holly was running.

Her LEPrecon-issue combat boots pounded a rhythm into the ground, propelling her forward with each stride. Up ahead, she could see the eroding stone walls of the ancient castle rise above the hill she was climbing. She could hear voices rising. _Faster, I must run faster!_

Suddenly the air thickened. Her bodily momentum slowed to a crawl and it felt as though the elf was running through molasses. Her boots sunk into the grass and each step was like pulling a plunger from its vacuum seal on the ground.

A sphere of light erupted from the heart of the castle. Holly sped up fighting the twisting dimensions around her and reached the summit of the hill. She saw Artemis enclosed within the sphere holding out a hand, signaling for her to stop. _Its okay_, she tried to tell him, _I can save you_. Strong arms wrapped around her and folded her body into the waiting chest._ No! _She screamed, _I can save you!_

She could hear the sadistic Pixie's spiteful voice, "You're too late, elf."

A sad smile was painted on Artemis' face as the light engulfed him, and his body disintegrated into golden ash. The Pixie's laughter echoed through the fields as the landscape shattered into a million pieces.

_NO!_

Holly woke in a cold sweat, her body rising quickly to a seated position and her hands grasping for the Neutrino that had recently taken up dwelling under her pillow each night. She remained that way, tense and alert with one hand on the weapon, for quite some time before her brain was able to convince her body it was only a dream.

_Artemis is fine,_ she told herself. _We saved him. He was dead but now he's fine._

But he wasn't, and neither was she.

Foaly had predicted it would take only a few hours, maybe a day at most, for the boy's soul to adjust to its new mind and body and then his memories would start returning. That had been three days ago and he still showed no signs of recalling any aspects of his past life. He still jumped every time Butler entered the room for heaven's sake.

Light was streaming in through the half-opened blinds, which annoyed her for some reason. She reached for the remote on the table next to her bed and pressed a button, closing the window and cutting off the light.

No sooner had they folded shut when there was a knock at the door. Holly tensed and her hand tightened around the Neutrino. She called cautiously, "Come in."

The door opened slowly to reveal Butler with a breakfast plate. Her hand relaxed on the weapon and she sat up against the wooden head of the bed. Butler placed the plate on the table beside her bed and sat down heavily in a chair.

Without his memories Artemis seemed only a shadow of his former self. Not only was he a stranger, but there was something else wrong with him. They hoped to God that it was a side-effect of the transition and would disappear when his memories returned, but as of now, the mind of the boy genius seemed dulled and sluggish. Instead of spending his time tinkering around with new inventions he would spend hours simply staring out his bedroom windows, looking for something that his eyes would never see.

All this passed between the two soldiers as they stared at each other across the room. As Artemis' two best friends, both of them had shared the grief and the blame when he was killed. There was a strong empathetic link that bonded them together more tightly than they had ever been before. Holly had gone through her routine of trying to cheer up Butler, giving him reassuring looks and reminding him that Foaly had been wrong before, maybe these things just took time.

But, though both of the soldiers would refuse to admit it to each other, their patience, and their hope, was growing thin. They had put all their hearts into reviving him from his eternal sleep and their happiness had known no bounds when the clone first breathed. But in some ways, what Artemis had become hurt more than if he had been left, pure and unadulterated, as a treasure in their memories.

_Sometimes its best to let sleeping dogs lie._

_No!_ Holly scolded herself, _We can't afford to think like that. Artemis will return to us._ The edge of the breakfast tray was hanging over the side of the table and Holly felt the need to line up their edges evenly. She took a draught from the cup making sure to place it back in the same place to retain the balance on the tray.

"How's Artemis?" she asked, addressing Butler for the first time. The bodyguard sighed and leaned back in his chair. "The same. I think Foaly got him to eat something," he said hopefully. Artemis had eaten very little since his return.

Suddenly, Holly couldn't take it anymore. Perhaps it was the patheticness of the situation they had been reduced to, but the LEP Captain uncharacteristically collapsed into tears. Cheering up sobbing fairies was not a part of Butler's job description, especially not in the mood he was in, but he got up from his seat and walked over to the elf, clumsily laying a hand on her back that stretched from her waist to her neck.

"Be strong, Captain Short. Don't give up on Artemis, I waited for him for three years because he made me a promise. He hasn't failed us yet." Holly raised her head and smiled at the bodyguard. What had Artemis done to deserve such a great man as his guardian. Aside from sacrifice his life for the sake of humanity, she hiccuped.

"Come on, let's go see him." Holly nodded and Butler helped her out of bed. They walked down the hallway in Fowl Manner over the black and white checkered marble floor. _Black, _thought Holly, _darkness, evil, disaster, misfortune. N__ot a good color._ She was careful to avoid stepping on any of the black squares as they traversed the hall. Finally they stood in front of Artemis' study. With a quick squeeze on her shoulder, the big man threw open the door.

_Butler's right, all is not lost. We still have each other,_ Holly thought as they passed through the doorway and into the dimly lit room, _and we still have hope. Artemis has always come back and this time will be no different._

_Hope dies last._

* * *

Hello! Here is a piece that could with some stretch of the imagination occur after The Last Guardian. I'm not planning on making it into an epic, probably just three or four chapters. Review if you liked it, or if you didn't like it, or if you were unsure whether or not you liked it, and stay tuned for the next part.


	2. Acceleration

Chapter Two - Acceleration  
_Close your eyes if you love me_

* * *

Light was filtering in under the closed blinds leaving the room dim. A boy sat at a desk tucked into the corner. Upon hearing the door open, he turned to address the elf and the bodyguard who had crossed the threshold. "Good morning Holly and Butler."

"Good morning, Artemis," Holly replied. "How are you feeling?" the bodyguard asked.

The boy scratched his head and turned back to his desk. "By that I assume you are inquiring as to whether my alleged memories have returned. No, they have not," he finished and his concentration returned to his desk. Butler shrugged and walked out the door. _He hates seeing Artemis like this,_ Holly realized.

The elf walked over to the boy and sat down on the desk. He glanced her way frowning, "Can I help you?"

Holly resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "Yes Artemis, I still want to know how you're feeling."

"I already told, I've had no recollection of-"

This time Holly gave in to the compulsion. "I understand that, but I actually want to know how you're feeling."

"Oh," Artemis paused. He looked slightly taken aback. His eyes glazed over for a moment before returning to their usual lucid gaze. "Well if you must know, I seem to often find myself lost in thought. I am also slightly bothered that you and Butler barged in here without knocking. As you can see, I am working on something."

Holly's heart jumped. Artemis had shown no interest in experimenting of any kind since his return. Perhaps a return of his curiosity and innovation could be the first step on a road to recovery. She looked down for the first time and recoiled; two large red eyes stared daggers back at her. A canvass was spread out below Artemis' gaze and for the first time Holly noticed he deftly held a brush in his left hand. Her vision returned to the painting. Surrounding the eyes, the scene was monochromatic. But the black paint was layered in such a way that despite the solid color, strange patterns swirled in the darkness.

She looked at the boy uncertainly. Holly had always known Artemis had an eye for art, but had he always had this talent? And then there was the matter of the picture itself. The background was unsettling, but the eyes were downright creepy. "Artemis, where did this picture come from?" she asked tentatively.

The boy seemed lost in thought. When he spoke he sounded as if his voice was coming from far away. "I don't know. These pictures just appear in my mind and the only way to get them out is to give them a physical embodiment. Perhaps..." he began then shook his head.

"Perhaps, what," Holly prodded.

"Well, perhaps if the events you have told me about are true, my mind has retained images from when my soul was lost. Though I have no memories of these things, it is possible that my subconscious is responsible for their unrelenting presence in my head."

It was the worst possible thing he could have said. Holly stood in shock. _What have I unknowingly forced Artemis to go through? These images and fragmented memories...he is still lost because he left a part of him back there, in the abyss. And it's my fault._

The elf stood numbly. She looked at the boy who seemed to have forgot about her presence, a slave to the thoughts in his head. "I never meant to...I never thought..." she muttered.

Artemis looked curiously in her direction. Intuitively, he said, "Holly, please don't blame yourself for my experiences. According to you, there was nothing you could have done to save me." His logic was lost on her. The elf stared blankly at her friend. Eventually, she tore her gaze away from his confused look and stumbled out of the room. _Away, I need to get away! _she thought, suddenly irrationally afraid, _What have I done? __I've created a monster._

She weaved down the hall like a drunk, forgetting to avoid the black squares, arriving in her borrowed room only to collapse on the bed. She lay there, shaking, tears falling freely from her eyes. Finally, both physically and emotionally exhausted, her brain shut down. The last thought in her mind as she drifted into sleep was _What have I done?__  
_

_I killed him and then I broke him._

* * *

Holly awoke to a room that looked different than the one she had fallen asleep in. For one, it was dark but she was able to see. A dim light seemed to emanate from nowhere; it spread throughout the room equally, casting no shadows but illuminating the room only enough for silhouettes and shapes to be distinguished.

She looked at the ceiling and remembered it being up higher. Around her the walls seemed to close in on her, squeezing the air from her lungs. She couldn't move. She tried to take a deep breath but there was something restricting the rise and fall of her chest. She slowly lowered her gaze, fright turning to sheer terror as her eyes set upon the figure crouched on her torso.

The creature was hideous and deformed, its grotesque legs bent at knobby knees. The face was hidden beneath a deep cowl. She tried to sit up, raise a hand to knock the monstrosity from her body, but she was completely paralyzed. Her breath caught in her throat as the creature raised a crooked arm to its head, drawing the cowl away from its head. The captured breath escaped without a sound. Beneath the cowl lay a face with no discernable features save two, the same eyes she had seen on Artemis' painting. Only these eyes were an icy blue.

"Ho-oo-ly," it spoke, mishappen lips struggling to form the words.

Her mind and body were paralyzed with fear. Holly could not tear her eyes from the bright shards of ice that pierced directly into her soul.

"Close your eyes...if you love me," it rasped.

_I can't, _she thought, _Please, I love you, but I can't._

For the second time in as many nights, Holly woke in a cold sweat. She looked out the window to see darkness closing in on her. She had slept through the day.

_I can't take it anymore,_ she thought, _these monsters follow me everywhere._

Every good LEP Captain knows when to call a retreat. For some it's their worst nightmare. When the enemy forces are wielding buzz batons it is a simple matter of getting out of range. When they are under threat from enemies bearing blasters, it is a slightly different story. Said Captain is instructed to retreat to a vantage point from which he or she can observe the enemy in safety.

All of this was written in the LEP handbook and Holly had memorized every word of it. But when the monsters were inside her own head, there was nowhere in the world she could run to escape them.

* * *

Chapter two and three were originally one chapter. But as I expanded them they seemed a little long, so here you go: two for the price of none. Enjoy.


	3. Free Fall

Chapter Three - Free Fall  
_Two seconds_

* * *

The elf stepped out onto the roof of the highest tower of Fowl Manner. From her perch above the high citadel she could see the field where the castle that held the second lock had been. Patterns had been etched into the tall grass in orange roses that seemed to glow in the darkness of the night. It was in this field of grass and flowers that Artemis had been killed and subsequently returned. But his return had been a mistake and his death had been her fault. The guilt of it was eating her up. She stepped over the railing that encompassed the balcony atop the tower, careful not to look down lest she lose her nerve. There was now a narrow strip, about one meter, between her and the edge. Holly closed her eyes.

"Holly?"

Artemis' voice reached out to her and drew her back to reality. She turned around to see the boy genius standing there. "Artemis," she said softly, surprised, "what are you doing up here?"

"I came up here to escape mother's doting and Juliet's tears," he said evenly, as if none of it mattered to him. "A better question would be what are you doing up here on the other side of the railing?" Instead of answering him, she turned back away from him and gazed out over the landscape.

"Holly...my friend," he said, as if the words felt strange on his tongue, "Please come down from there. It's dangerous, the fall could kill you."

Holly gave him a soft smile. A cold wind blew through the night and the elf on the ledge shivered, holding on to the railing with white knuckles.

"Please, Holly, get down from that ledge. Butler has informed me that he believes you have acquired the Atlantic Complex. We will take you back to Haven, the doctors are very good there. According to you they cured me."

The elf shook her head, her auburn hair that she had neglected to cut in the stress of the last six months fell in ribbons around her face. "I fear it's too late, Artemis. I'm already going insane."

"Holly, this is not the answer." He reached out to her, the wrong decision. She took a step back, her deft feet now clung to the edge of the building as her body swayed in the wind. Artemis quickly pulled back and considered the facts. Holly seemed to be mentally unstable, something the bodyguard had told him was a symptom of her condition. The fall was more than seven stories and would kill anyone, human or fairy, that jumped. The wind was blowing, but not with much strength. If either of them fell, it would be by their own hand.

"Artemis," she said again. This time he met her gaze and froze. An icy blue eye stared back at him.

_My own, from when we swapped in the time stream returning from Hybras._

Forgotten memories banged on the gates of his weathered mind. But now was not the time. If he lost control now it could well be the end of the elf in front of him. And though he could not remember her, he felt as though her death would still be a blow to him, not to mention to Butler and Foaly.

"Artemis, I'm so sorry for everything. I killed you and I broke you." The boy genius stood there, frozen by the gaze of his own eye.

Holly looked out into the black night, mismatched eyes gazing out over the fields that seemed to flow in the wind. Above them, a silver orb hung in the sky "A full moon," she mused. "It was on a night like this that we first met." She looked back into his eyes. "I forgive you for kidnapping me."

"Holly..." the boy said cautiously.

"Artemis, close your eyes if you love me," she whispered. And he did, hypnotized by her voice without a drop of magic.

Two seconds was how long it took for a genius mind to process everything around him with eyes shut tight. Two seconds for everything in his life to fall apart; for his lips to formulate the words:

_I forgive you._

Two seconds was too long.


	4. Ascension

Chapter Four - Ascension  
_The night is darkest before the dawn_

* * *

There was no flailing or screaming or last-minute second thoughts. Holly fell backwards, as if in slow motion, with a sad smile painted on her face. It mirrored the one on Artemis' lips when his body was encased in the fairy spell that ended his life. Artemis' outstretched hands grasped air as the elf's slim wrists slipped through his fingers. Her body disappeared, like a doll in the wind, over the lip of the building. Time slowed down and Artemis' brain, finally active again, began to analyze the situation. He found his options were rather limited. There was one actually.

Without hesitation, and without hearing the ding of the elevator and the heavy footsteps that thundered towards him, he jumped.

In the same instant that he grasped Holly's outstretched hand, he felt strong hands wrap around his ankles. There was a grunt from somewhere above him as their combined downward momentum ceased with a jolt, but the bodyguard held them steady like an anchor. Artemis looked down at the elf hanging from his hand. She was no longer smiling; tears were falling freely from her eyes. "Artemis," she said softly, "I'm sorry for everything."

The words, bottled up in his mind for so long, were on his lips without him even thinking about it. "I forgive you." And with those three words the dam broke. A wave of nostalgia broke against him and he surrendered his mind to its tide. The floodgates opened and memories began rushing in. They hit him like punches to the stomach, shaking him to the core and turning his world upside down, but he did not let go of Holly's hand as Butler reeled them both in to safety.

The trio fell heavily to the ground atop the roof and Holly collapsed shaking into Artemis' shoulder. The bodyguard looked at his principal over the traumatized elf. He gave a curt nod and then stood and walked back to the elevator. Artemis placed an arm around Holly and said quietly, "Thank you, Domovoi."

Eventually Holly's shaking ceased and the boy and the elf sat in silence, watching the black night give way to a gray dawn.


	5. Absolution

Epilogue - Absolution  
_Moving on_

* * *

Everything in the room was white: the walls, the ceiling, the bedsheets, and the nurses' uniforms. _So this is what being in heaven feels like__, _Holly mused.

Next to her bed, Artemis' head rose with a start. "Ah, Holly, you've woken up."

Holly smiled to see the boy in her room. "Indeed. How long have you been here?"

"Quite a while, these energy patches are the only thing keeping me awake at this point. These really are extraordinary, I don't know how he does it." Artemis flinched, worried that somewhere, somehow, the centaur was watching.

Hundreds of miles away, holed up in his operations booth, the centaur in question beget a smug smile and executed a little bow.

Artemis looked around at the room. Someone had sent a vase of orange roses; the card had been torn off. "I see," he mused, "the shoe is on the other foot. Now you must stay here and endure these ridiculous treatments while I wait at your bedside."

Holly made a face at him. The sheets on her bed were slightly wrinkled. She tried to resist the urge to straighten them out. Artemis noticed. "Don't fight it Holly. It's best to just give in until the doctors come and see you." She sighed. Her guilt was gone, but the sadness she felt over Artemis' death still lingered and the symptoms would stay with her for quite a bit longer. It had taken Artemis almost six months to recover and he was a genius.

And yet, despite his teasing, or possibly because of it, Holly smiled. _Artemis is back. _Her mind went back to the scene atop Fowl Manner. Her voice changed, suddenly serious, "Artemis, what happened? I think you saved me...from myself."

He shook his head, "No Holly, you saved me. I was broken and you fixed me."

The elf stared up at the white ceiling. "I can barely stand to think about it. I was insane, Artemis. I don't know how I could have done it." She frowned, straightening the wrinkles that were starting to form on her sheets once more.

Artemis laid a hand on top of hers. "Holly, you once told me to leave the past where it belongs, in the past." His eyes met hers and something unspoken passed between them.

He sat down on the bed next to her. "The doctors will be showing up soon. I should probably leave before they kick me out."

"Will you come back soon?" asked the elf, unable to help herself.

Artemis smiled and rose letting go of her hand. "Don't worry. I have some...business to attend to," he winked at her, "but I will return as soon as I can."

"Goodbye Artemis. It's good to have you back."

"Goodbye Holly. Watch out for those black cats." Holly's eye twitched and Artemis excused himself from the room laughing nervously.

At the door the boy nearly ran into Dr. Argon. He looked the little gnome up and down and said, "You had better take excellent care of Holly, or my friend I will be back."

The haughty look and the objection died on the doctor's lips as Butler appeared over Artemis' shoulders. He slumped his shoulders, nodded his head and turned to face his new patient. Dreams of a new celebrity were already dying in his mind as the weight of responsibility and the fear of the man-mountain settled on his shoulders. Artemis smiled over the gnome's shoulders and Butler gave a small wave.

Holly smiled back at them at them and turned to face the doctor. His mind was clearly on other things and he began asking her memorized questions straight from the psych book. _Artemis would know the textbook answers to all of these, _she thought, _no wonder he was out so quickly._

Holly glanced up at the white ceiling. As she answered the questions, her mind drifted. She had gotten Juliet's grief, Butler's empathy, and Foaly's sarcastic remarks that masked his sense of loss, but what had set her mind straight, and had brought Artemis' mind back was the boy's absolution. _It's not a good thing to keep emotions bottled up. Sooner or later it will come back to bite you._

Overcoming the complex would be another challenge, but nothing that she couldn't overcome with the help of Artemis, Butler, Foaly, and all of the other people that had helped her become what she was today. "Thank you," she said quietly.

The gnome looked up, "What was that?"

"Oh, nothing."

She touched the fairy communicator on her wrist. The card from Angeline and Juliet was nestled beneath her pillow. In that moment, she could still feel the chaos in Artemis' lost eyes and the fear in his trembling fingers as he desperately grasped her hands. But in spite of everything that had happened, she felt more safe and more secure than she had since the boy genius had died. Everyone was back together. They would leave the past in the past, where it belonged.

And together they would all move on.

* * *

Not really a fan of this last chapter, but it's been awhile so I was pressed to finish. I guess it's alright, I couldn't think of a good line to end it on.

The way I write, I write what seems interesting first and then kind of fill in the blanks. When I started this story I didn't really have a plot, I just knew I wanted to write a cliffhanger (get it) so I drafted the last two chapters out first, actually before I read The Last Guardian and came up with a legitimate plot. The line "I was broken and you fixed me" was my idea until Colfer stole my credit! Unfortunately he owns Artemis Fowl so there's not much I can do about it. Oh well, I'll settle for great minds think alike.

Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed and who is going to do so. This is my first time posting on such a commonly traversed community and it's pretty awesome to get so many reviews (comparatively). What can I say, reviews feed me ego, and like Dr. Cox, I have a huge ego! Thanks again and stayed tuned. I have at least one more Fowl fic planned for some point.


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